Tag Archives: piston

Hello Fifi

As part of her tour of the country, Fifi, the B-29 operated by the Commemorative Air Force was coming to the Chicago region. She was scheduled to appear at DuPage Airport, west of Chicago. I had been in contact with the team about covering the visit for GAR. This is something to be published soon so I won’t spoil everything just yet! However, it is safe to say that I did head along and meet up with the team and see Fifi flying.

She was scheduled to fly three times during the day with the first trip being in the morning. The layout of the main part of the airport meant that the light wold be bad in the morning but better later in the day. I found an alternative spot to catch her as she took off and got myself ready. Unfortunately, my brain was not totally in gear and I had one camera on the wrong settings. I did get lucky though and did not end up with frozen props in the shots, even if they are a little less blurry than I would like!

I then headed around to the approach lights to get her heading back in. It was very impressive to have a B-29 coming right over your head. I got the shots but did peak out the side to enjoy the experience – something that is a little lost some times when focusing too much on getting the shots. I was about to head back when I noticed a P-51 on approach too. A nice bonus. Then it was back to the airport to get the interview and some ground shots. A great bunch of people and a very interesting day.

Poplar Grove

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After my visit to the WACO reunion as recounted in a previous post here, I had a lot of pictures of a WACO owned by Steve and Tina Thomas. They own Poplar Grove airport northwest of Chicago. I had been there before and my earlier visit is described here. I decided to print a couple of shots from the sortie and take them up to Steve as a thank you.

I dropped in one Sunday and found Steve in his office. He was pleased with the pictures and took me off for a tour of parts of the field. They own a lovely Beech 18 as well as the WACO and their hangar has a great selection of prints and memorabilia on display so we had a look at that. Then we headed up to the hangar of Sean, another WACO owner. We chatted for a while and watched some Cub flying activity on the grass strip in front of Sean’s hangar.

Steve needed to get back to work so I got my car and ended up back at Sean’s place. We chatted about the usual aviation stuff while he cleaned his aircraft and I watched the flying. The Cub was being flown by Rick Kluver and, when he knew there was a camera nearby, he came by to give me something to shoot. He landed after having finished with his two previous passengers and we chatted for a while.

Rick’s Cub is one of the planes that I shot when we went to Oshkosh for the skiplane flyin and I had met him then. You can see a previous post about that here. Anyway, it didn’t take long before he offered me a ride. It would be churlish to refuse so I hopped in for my first ride in a Cub. I took the camera along of course.

Rick says he gets altitude sickness so likes to keep it low. In a plane like a Cub with the side open, this is a great way to fly. Down amongst the scenery, we got to see some cattle in a river and even some deer that we obviously startled a little. It was a fun little trip and I thoroughly enjoyed myself. There was time for a little video to be shot so the results of that are below. As before, Poplar Grove proved to be a friendly and welcoming environment. I will be back!

WACO Reunion

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I have previously mentioned that I am more interested in getting to events that are slightly more individual than the bigger airshows these days. That also includes when I am trying to get material for the magazine together. One such event was the WACO Reunion in Mount Vernon OH. This was being covered for a piece that I was writing for Global Aviation Resource and will appear in an upcoming edition of the magazine. Consequently, I am not going to preempt the magazine piece here.

Instead, this is more about the time I had while I was there rather than a description of the event and the organization. I had been in contact with Andy Heins, president of the national WACO Club earlier in the year to make sure I could cover the event. Andy told me what I needed to do to be there and then made himself available to tell me all about what was going on. The event is a gathering of club members and their aircraft and is a very social event. There is no flying display. However, the members like to fly their aircraft and that is what they do. The middle of the day is quite quiet but early in the morning and later in the day when the weather is a lot more calm is the time when people get in their planes and fly.

Fortunately, that also included me getting to fly too. My first trip of the day was in a Citabria with Tim Ponds. This was to get some aerial shots of the aircraft parked to illustrate the article. Time was very accommodating and we got some video footage as well as stills of the site. While we were up, Steve Thomas was flying his WACO and we arranged an impromptu shoot. Normally I am not inclined to shoot air to air without a prior brief. However, we kept it simple and straight and level and I was able to grab some good shots. We also flew past the airfield and got a couple of shots with the aircraft parked in the background.

Then I got my first flight in a WACO when Susan Theodorelos took me up in her beautiful model RNF. This is an open cockpit model with the pilot in the rear seat and a two seat space up front for the passengers. I was on my own in this case so had some space to move. A couple of other aircraft joined up for some formations and I was able to grab some shots of them at the same time. Vibration was not too bad but keeping myself isolated from the airframe was tricky so getting good shots was a bit tricky. However, I got some I was pleased with.

One technique thing I learned from these flights was focus activation. I normally focus with the rear button on the camera rather than the shutter button. This is fine in almost all circumstances. However, when you are trying to shoot backwards at an odd angle, this is a lot harder to do and the shutter button becomes the best solution. Swapping the configuration in flight (I hadn’t expected to shoot another aircraft when we first took off) wasn’t practical so some odd contortions were necessary. Now I have added this config setting to my quick menu so I can make the change quickly if the situation should arise again.

Everyone at the flyin was very friendly. Aviation never fails to amaze me with the way in which you can show up somewhere for the first time with nothing but a shared interest and be welcomed so quickly by people you have never met before. The WACO people were a perfect example of this and I can’t thank them enough for their hospitality. I hope to be back again for future reunions. In the mean time, here is a little video that I got while there. Enjoy and don’t forget to buy the magazine when it comes out at www.globalaviationresource.com!

Will We Ski?

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We are creeping up on a day that may or may not prove to be a good day out. This one is weather dependent – something that is often true but in this case more so than normal. At the end of January, EAA schedule their annual ski plane fly in. Held at Pioneer Field it is combined with a chili cook and a celebration of the birthday or Audrey Poberezney, wife of the founder of EAA.

Aside from the weather being good enough to fly, two other things are required. First, there has to be enough snow on Pioneer Field for the planes to land. Second, there has to be snow at wherever they are taking off from! (Some planes do have skis with wheels that can go through them so are more flexible in operation but they are in the minority.) If the snow isn’t playing ball, the fly in has lost its main interest.

I originally planned to go a couple of years ago. Lack of snow canceled that trip for me. I decided to have another go last year. This time things were a lot better. Oshkosh is about two and a half hours north of us if the traffic is flowing. Since the fly in can start early, you either have to get going really early or stay locally. If you can find a nice hotel not so far away that your wife likes that has a spa, you can all be happy!

I had been in touch with Jim Koepnik (until very recently, EAA’s chief photographer) to keep an eye on the developments in the days ahead of the event and Jim ended up being an excellent guide (provider of transport and a warm car to hang out in between aircraft) throughout the day. (Good luck Jim with whatever comes next!) We ended up having great weather and when wrapped up suitably felt little of the cold. I got a bunch of shots and ended up writing a piece for Global Aviation Resource on the day.

This year the plans have been less effective. Originally I intended to repeat what we did last year. However, there had been no snow for ages and there didn’t appear to be any coming soon. We decided to scrub the hotel. I had been in touch with EAA Chapter 1414 about their group trip up and possibly putting cameras on their planes. They offered a ride up. Since I originally thought I would already be there, I had not intended to accept. However, since the hotel cancellation, this became a good possibility if the event went ahead.

Now we have had snow! A big storm came through Illinois and Wisconsin last week. I’m not sure whether the conditions will be good by the time of the event or whether the weather will allow flying anyway. However, we have a plan of sorts so now we just have to wait and see what comes next. Fingers crossed. In the mean time, here are the shots from last year.

More WHF Fun!

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Some days things are just looking like they will be good. The Warbird Heritage Foundation have their newly restored P-51 Mustang, Baby Duck, ready for flight. Before they can do too much with it, they need to get some hours on the engine. Consequently, they have had Vlado Lenoch coming across to fly the aircraft when possible to build the hours.

I knew that they had intentions to fly in the week before Christmas but I didn’t know exactly when. However, the weather was crap for the majority of the week. When I saw a good forecast for Friday and I had some free time, I decided to take a chance and head on up to see if anything was happening. If not, it was still a nice day to be out and about!

As it was, not only did the guess prove to be accurate, I got a bit luckier than even I had expected. Baby Duck was out on the ramp when I arrived which was a good sign. Indeed she would be flying and Vlado was coming to fly her. What is the easiest way for Vlado to get there? In his P-51 of course. Paul also was planning on flying one of the other aircraft that day as well. Bonus!

Vlado showed up and got ready to fly the Duck. I scooted across the field to be in a position for good light and angles and it wasn’t long before Vlado was taxiing out. A few other aircraft movements kept me amused while he headed out to the departure end. Before I had left the hangar, I had foolishly suggested to Vlado that he keep it low on departure. That was a pretty redundant thing to say. Vlado certainly kept the aircraft in a good position for me as he came past and he built up speed before turning it into height.

I headed back since we didn’t know how long they would be out. They actually landed away so were gone for quite a while. Chris Doud had been in the right place to bag the back seat so he was having a great time.

When they got back, Paul had a chat with Vlado about how the flight had gone and then got ready to take the T-2 up for a run. Vlado was also heading home in Moonbeam McSwine so I made a second run across the field to get the departures again. They ended up heading out close together. Both provided sporty departures so I was considering the day a very productive one.

I headed back to the hangar to await the return of the T-2. They broke back into the pattern and landed so some taxi in shots and then a few pictures of a very happy back seat passenger made for the end of the day. Time to head back to Chicago and enjoy all the traffic could offer on the last day before Christmas!

Other Waukegan Bits and Pieces

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I did get a little side benefit when out shooting the A-4 at Waukegan. I made my way to the other side of the field to be ready to shoot the A-4 when it departed. However, I did give myself a bit of spare time to make sure I didn’t miss it. The result was a couple of extra aircraft.

One was the Yak 52 that Grant owns and flies. He was running it up when I got across the field. I told him where I was going to be so he would know when he departed. Sure enough he came close and he headed out. Hopefully we will be seeing more of Grant’s Yak in the not too distant future.

The second benefit was a corporate jet heading out. Waukegan has a lot of corporate traffic. If I had waited a few more minutes there was a Hawker 800XP heading out but I had to be back at the Hooch. However, I did get this fella as he departed. He used a fair amount of the runway which suited me well.

The last one was a CJ that departed while we were taxiing out in the T-6. Not as great a shot but one to add to the catalog!

First Flight – for a while at least

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My friends at the Warbird Heritage Foundation in Waukegan have been working for a long time on adding another aircraft to their already excellent collection. The newest aircraft is a P-51 Mustang called Baby Duck. It is many years since Baby Duck last flew and she has gone through an extensive restoration since being recovered from a storage location near Philadelphia.

The work has been undertaken at Tap-Air in East Troy WI. They have been putting her back together after a thorough restoration of the whole airframe and engine and the whole process has been coming to a climax with the approach of the first flight post restoration.

After some engine runs and taxiing tests, the date for the first flight was set. Paul Wood, the owner of the foundation, kindly invited me up to see the flight and I headed up to East Troy on a gorgeous day. Pilot for the first flight was Vlado Lenoch. Vlado is a highly experienced pilot of Mustangs. He has his own aircraft, Moonbeam McSwine which he displays all around the country. However, he has flown many other aircraft. I think he said that this was his 25th!

After some final checks on the airframe, Vlado fired her up and taxied off for departure. I headed to a spot up the field to be ready for the first wheels up moment. While it was a lovely day, it was warm and sunny so heat haze was a big deal. However, you don’t get to choose when these things are happening so you go with it and get what you can.

The first flight went very well. Vlado took her up to altitude, cycled the systems, undertook some handling checks and basically made sure things were good. Then he brought her back for a flyby – a good sign that he was pleased with the aircraft. There then followed a debrief about e issues that he had found. The Tap-Air guys then took the opportunity to try and fix a few of the issues that could be dealt with immediately while we had a bite to eat before Vlado took her up again.

This time he had a longer sortie and pushed her a little harder with some basic aeros. All went well and again he showed his comfort with everything with another flyby. After landing, another debrief with the guys and a list of tasks to be worked on. There is still some work to do but, hopefully she should be making her way to her new home pretty soon. Probably not soon enough to make it to Oshkosh this year but there is always another year!

As a finish, I animated some of the shots together to make a pseudo-video. Here is the result.